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Hobbiton was AMAZING!!! We visited New Zealand and this place was the #1 priority and it did not disappoint! The whole experience was very efficient with dedicated tour guides. Definitely book your tour in advance. I went with a tour company through Viator that picked us up from our hotel in Auckland and drove us to Hobbiton and the Worm Caves. The tour included one drink from the Green Dragon and a buffet style lunch. We did not feel rush at all for lunch and the staff took great care of our food allergies. Highly recommend this place!!!
This was absolutely one of the highlights of my time in New Zealand! I booked a tour for the Hobbiton Movie Set months in advance, so didn't have to worry about driving to Matamata (over 2 hours away). When we arrived to the location, I was overcome with excitement! We had a bit of time to peruse the gift shop and cafe, where I grabbed a mocha, which was rich, chocolate-y and tasty. From the store, I picked up Lord of the Rings colored pencils with 2 coloring posters included. Soon enough, we were ready to line up and board the Hobbiton bus to the movie set. The rolling green pastures with trees, flowers, vegetation, streams of water, bridges, doors to Hobbit homes, were simply stunning. Every little detail was kept the same as it was in the movies. Our guide shared many interesting, funny stories and facts about Hobbiton. One thing that stood out was that there's actually a fake tree on top of one of the hills, but it's so realistic looking that you would never know if it wasn't mentioned. Toward the end of the tour, we got to enter one of the Hobbit homes, and the set up was beautiful. There was a living room with fireplace, chairs with games out; kitchen, bedroom, writing corner, and much more. I loved that it was interactive and we got to sit on the bed, chairs, as well as touch the props. The final stop was the Green Dragon Inn, where we were able to get our free drink. The only non alcoholic option was ginger beer, which was refreshing and sweet. There was plenty of seating and a cozy fireplace. I also bought an Afghan cookie and muffin, which was quite yummy. Overall, this was a fantastic experience and well worth it. I truly enjoyed my time in The Shire!
The minute I knew I was going to New Zealand I knew I needed to watch the hobbiton and lord of the rings series. We booked the hobbiton tour maybe 4-6 months in advance online. We drove from Auckland which took some time but we got to the hobbiton area maybe 10 minutes before the check before our tour. They had a great parking lot and then we checked in, the staff were very friendly. They had restrooms which was needed after a long drive! We then lined up for the tour and entered the bus- where we watched a small welcome video from the director of the series. We then were dropped off at the beginning of the set. The tour itself maybe lasted 1-2 hours and ended with one included drink giving one non alcoholic ginger beer and other alcoholic beverages options. It was super hot! In December during the tour and I was not prepared for it - also should have brought my water bottle. They do offer umbrellas which is nice and helps with the heat. They have many photo opts. The only AC areas were inside one of the hobbit homes and and the very end where they have other restrooms a mini cafe. We then hopped on the bus back to the main area- the main area had another cafe upstairs and it was super busy but was around 12pm and we were rushing a little because we had a 2pm tour at the waitamo caves for the glow worms so didn't get to try the cafe. Overall- if you are a hobbiton fan, you have to come here!
A dream come true. A magical experience. A memory I will hold forever. This place is everything and more than I was hoping for. My dad got me into Lord of the Rings as a kid, and we always talked about going to check it out. Unfortunately he's passed away, so it was extra special that I got to go and experience it all for both of us. I could go on and on about how amazing it is, but there's not enough words to describe it. Even if you aren't a huge Lord of the Rings fan, it's still a beautiful and interesting experience for people to see and explore. On top of that, I was genuinely surprised by how God the food was! It's not a BS average money-grubbing buffet, it's actual good food that I would absolutely eat again. If you go to New Zealand, this is the absolute number one stop you need to make, no matter what.
Where do you want to go when visiting New Zealand? HOBBITON! Where else? HOBBITON!! I want to see the Hobbitses! I was probably expecting more, but I had a wonderful experience. If you flew into Auckland, it's about a two hour trip to Hobbiton. I booked a tour to make things easier, and probably a better deal. We arrived at The Shire's Rest where you wait for the shuttle bus. There's a gift shop and cafe, but you'll return here, so you can purchase your gifts afterwards! Hobbiton is actually located within a HUGE Sheep farm called the Alexander Family Farm. Per our tour guide, Peter Jackson was scouting filming locations via helicopter, and instantly fell in love with this farm. You will see sheep everywhere during your shuttle bus ride into this gigantic compound, and Hobbiton is just a small area. Our tour guide was great! Clear, upbeat, kind, and friendly, and always keeping everyone engaged. She also takes awesome photos! She can be a professional photographer! During the tour, you can download an app to read about each specific stops. After the main hobbiton area, you get to your inside one of the houses--all hobbit sized! A cool experience! The last stop is the Green Dragon Inn where receive your complimentary beer. English Ale, Amber Ale, or Ginger beer (non-alcoholic). Water, coffee, and tea are also available. You can take your drink inside and outside this area next to a beautiful, picturesque lake. Back to The Shire's Rest! Overall, I had a wonderful experience. It was definitely interesting and unique. Our tour guide was great and an excellent photographer! The whole area was very well maintained, clean, and easy to walk around. It was nice! Almost like walking around a botanical garden. I honestly thought Hobbiton would be a little bigger, more interactive, and include some other areas besides Hobbiton itself. Basically, Sam's house looks like Bilbo's house, which also looks like Merry and Pippin's house. Even so, I'd still recommend coming here for all Hobbit and Lord of the Ring fans visiting New Zealand.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to," Visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand was like stepping straight into J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth. It's located on the Alexander Farm, and was the movie set for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Everywhere you look, you're greeted by charming hobbit houses with their bright round doors, whimsical and lush gardens, and fantastic little details. Our guide, Sal, made the experience even more special with his enthusiasm and storytelling. He shared fun tidbits about the set, such as how Peter Jackson discovered the Alexander Farm while scouting for the perfect Shire location by helicopter. The farm's rolling green hills and large pine tree (now known as the Party Tree) were perfect. One of the highlights was getting to step inside one of the hobbit houses--love! Though the interiors were filmed elsewhere, just being inside the cozy lil houses was like we were in the movie. The tour ended with a delicious buffet lunch. I could easily imagine myself living in a hobbit hole. Such an immersive experience. I very much enjoyed it!
Highly recommend as a stop on your New Zealand trip! How could one miss the magic of the rolling hills and beautiful landscape of the hobbits' homes from Lord of the Rings? I had to reserve tickets more than 2 months in advance for a 2.5 hour set tour. As the website proclaims, "bookings essential!" There are over 20 tours a day, and some times fill up more quickly because of the package together with various meals. The check in area for tours were near the Shire's Rest Cafe. The food and coffee at the cafe were pretty good, at reasonable prices. I appreciated that they asked what time my tour was, so that they could ensure delivery before the tour started. The experience itself was great. We boarded a bus with our tour group to Hobbiton, which drove about 10 min through the rolling hills of Alexander Farm. After we arrived at Hobbiton, the tour guide took us through the Hobbiton set, a hobbit's home, and the Green Dragon Inn, where we received a complimentary drink. The guide seemed to love his job. He was informative, funny, and very open minded to all sorts of our group's questions and cheeky responses to his questions. It really helped that he was a LOTR fan, and was actually able to answer quite a bit in detail. After sending a question to their email regarding the Shire's Rest Cafe, I received a reply in less than 24 hours. All around great service! A bit pricey, but worth it!
While there are a few small things you could nitpick on, Hobbiton is an unbelievable experience for any fan of Middle Earth. Everything is so well done, from the introduction video by Peter Jackson to the small details inside of the Hobbit homes you get to visit. The tour guide gives great information about the filming, techniques used, stories, and more. The place itself is beautiful and really does feel like you're at The Shire. I did the included lunch and while the food could have been better it was good and the price wasn't bad. Good variety too. Visiting The Green Dragon was fun as well and a free drink is included with your tour. You do have to stay with your tour group and it moves at a modest pace. We had a particular group within the tour group that were pretty annoying, always loudly talking over the guide, wandering off the paths into restricted areas, hoarding space and time for pictures like Smaug hordes gold while the rest of us quickly took our photos to accommodate others, but even they couldn't put a damper on this visit.
We did the tour with the dinner banquet. It was amazing. I'm not a big lotr fan but I totally appreciate all the hard work put into this and the fun facts learned during this tour. The food was also also super amazing and I had a little bit of everything. I think about the mash herb sweet potatoe, veggie pot pie, the herb chicken, and the lamb shank. The cider drink was really good. Staff are super sweet. For parking, make sure you follow their direction. For alcohol, make sure you have your passport or New Zealand id. If you can, go for the evening banquet tour. You get to see everything in the day and night!
I think this is worth seeing especially first thing in the morning when there are not too many people in your photos. It was mostly enjoyable for a toddler but not stroller friendly (recommend a baby carrier). Note- it is quite touristy and quite an operation but beautiful setting. There is a cafe to get coffee in the morning.
I have zero interest in Lord of the Rings franchise (both the books and the movies), but Hobbiton was on the top of my sister and husband's list of things to see in New Zealand. However, Hobbiton is a pretty cool place that even non-fans will enjoy it! Located on a sheep farm a couple of hours from Auckland, Hobbiton is the movie set from the LOTR and Hobbit movies. Originally it was a temporary movie set, but it became such a popular attraction that it was then rebuilt permanently. You can purchase tickets for just a tour of Hobbiton, or a tour and meal combo (either second breakfast, lunch, or an evening banquet). We purchased the tour and lunch combo, and the lunch was fantastic! It was a buffet of a wide variety of food -- salad, vegetable dishes, meat, fish, pasta, desserts, etc, and they also offered gluten free items, as well as dairy free and vegan items. In addition to the meal, you were also served one complimentary beverage (beer, cider, or ginger beer), and you could purchase additional drinks (including wine!) for a very reasonable price (I think a glass of wine was $8). As I don't know much about the movies (I found them very boring), I didn't recognize the iconic Shire locations, but the scenery was beautiful and the Hobbit houses were very photo-worthy. Overall, it was a great tour, although there was this annoying middle aged couple who, despite there being the lightest sprinkle of rain, had large umbrellas and kept nearly poking me in the face with them. There was plenty of room for everyone in the tour to stand and hear the tour guide, yet they had to stand right beside me and shove their umbrella in my face. I told them to be careful and when they made no effort to move their umbrella away from my face, I moved far away from them, but they followed me and stood right beside me again, nearly poking my eyes out again! The tour guide saw what they were doing and firmly told them to behave. (They didn't, but I made damn sure not to stand anywhere near them. I don't even know why they were in the tour -- they seemed to be hating it.) [Yelp collections: NZ/Fiji 2023; New Zealand 2023]
10 years ago
Didn't expect the food to be good but it was! And, so was the beer! We got an order of lamb stew and pumpkin soup. Both very yummy, but if I were to have a second serving of one, I'd choose the pumpkin soup. All food items were no more than $10 with generous portions. Just a FYI, if you do end up getting a soup or stew, try to finish it all because they only have bags available for take-away or left overs. read more
9 years ago
11 years ago
Visiting Hobbiton was a dream of mind and when I was finally able to go it was the coolest day of my life. It's situated away in the family's farm so when you're walking with your tour guide towards The Shire you don't expect it, and then all of a sudden it's before you. It made me tear up. The sight of it is really spectacular. I took a picture everywhere and anywhere I could. They tell you not to be disappointed when you come upon the hobbit hole you can enter, because it's just a façade but being able to take a pic from inside out was cool enough. Our drinks at The Green Dragon and lunch in the party tent only added to an unforgettable day. I hope I get to go back and experience it again. It's definitely something I'd pay for again, and in a smaller tour group is worth it. read more
10 years ago
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9 years ago
You do not have to like the movies or books to enjoy this beautiful picturesque tour! You walk around and view about 44 hobbit holes and learn some interesting facts about the movie. The ride to Hobbiton is riddled with rolling hills. So much natural beauty. It will drop your jaw. You also get a free alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage at the end of the tour! read more
11 years ago
Had a stout and a lager by the fireplace. Brilliant surroundings near the end of a really interesting tour. We were afraid there wouldn't be food and had grabbed something beforehand and it proved fortunate. There were small snacks but little time with pictures to take and toilet breaks. We picked a perfect day weather wise and as it is no longer school hols and mid winter it was busy but not unpleasantly so. Excellent!! read more
9 years ago
10 years ago
OK so I'll be the first to admit: I've never seen any of the LOTR or hobbit movies. I know what you're thinking: then why travel hours to see the movie set? Honestly, look at the photos I've posted. It is amazingly serene and purely beautiful at this spot! You don't have to be a fan to enjoy this experience. The tours are so well done and the grounds are maintained impeccably. Our tour guide, Sarah, gave us some pretty interesting information that was all behind the scenes and focused on both info about the plot and the difficulties filming the movie. The movie set is located in part of this massive farm owned by a family with a bajillion sheep. There are rolling hills everywhere and the sky is the prettiest blue your ever seen! I really enjoyed this spot for the scenery and I know that my family members that had seen the movies were totally happy with our decision to visit this place also! read more
10 years ago
8 years ago
Great 2 hour tour of the hobbit movie set. Your tour guide tells you about the behind the scenes of the making of this movie and enough time to take a lot of pictures. At the end of the tour, you get (1) complimentary drink (beer, cider, non alcoholic drink). I highly recommend to go at least once if you're visiting this country. read more
10 years ago
I cannot say enough WONDERFUL things about our experience here. I was not thrilled my husband had us pay the extra money for the night tour with dinner...but I will say it was wroth every penny. We had a total blast, I would HIGHLY suggest doing the night tour with dinner. If you are a fan enough to visit, you should get this experience too. read more
12 years ago
The best beef pie in ALL of New Zealand. The beef was marinated in beer and served in a flakey crust! Also, the cider was amazing, the ale tastes like dirt! read more
11 years ago
LOVE THIS place. Everyone was so nice . We had a great tour guide. Wish I could remember his name . Totally funny & friendly! Just like a Hobbit should be. He was full of knowledge & fun facts about the movie & the property we were touring . They even handed out sturdy golf umbrellas when it started to sprinkle. Well Done! read more
10 years ago
10 years ago
Absolutely wonderful! The tour guide, Claire was a sheer delight and so many cute hobbit holes. Great free beer and pies. The kitty at Green Dragon named Pickles, was so adorable. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. We'll have to seek out other LOTR and Hobbit places. read more
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This was the second time for us visiting Hobbiton and it was just as enjoyable as the first time ,if not more so. Even though we could remember some of what our guide would tell us next it was still as interesting and going around Hobbiton equally so. The location if you drive yourself to where the tour starts is easy enough to find coming from either Cambridge or Matamata, but I must admit that we actually found coming from Cambridge easier the last time we came than via Matamata this time. There is also tours you can join from Matamata , Auckland or Rotorua. Anyway as we all know by now a bus takes you down to the start of the tour which is lead by one of their friendly very informative guides. Once off the bus and being led through the area , you are told little pieces of information about the movie and some of the camera trickery they used in making the movie and have lots of time to take photos. A very good thing I found is the guides are not very pushy about everyone keeping together....unlike some tours where everyone is herded along in one clump. This is very relaxed, just as it should be. On getting to the Green Dragon Inn you are invited to sample either a cider or ginger beer. I opted for the cider much to my satisfaction. Inside the inn is a homely kind of place...warm and welcoming, of course there was a fire going and the cat asleep on the chair is a nice touch!!!! After the inn you head past the lake and so to the bus and end of this magical tour. At the Shires Rest , where you are finally dropped by the bus you can purchase memorabilia of your visit. Even more so when you are doing the tour if you could imagine yourself there amongst real live hobbits it would be even more magical. All in all a must do for any tourist or even local, weither have seen the movies or read the books or not. read more
One of my favorite places when I visited New Zealand! Honestly this set is magical. We came before sunset and it just added to the beauty. We were taken on a short bus ride to the set. There are sooo many details around every hobbit hole, the set designers were most definitely perfectionists. From the doors, to fences, and little details that helped figure out the jobs of the hobbits. The staff also really knows the movies well and helped us recall all the memories of the scenes shot in the Shire. They are also very accommodating and well aware that everyone wants pictures so they wait for everyone to get their pictures and then move on. The set was so colorful and it was interesting to see how the scenes inside the holes were shot elsewhere, but totally gave the impression that they were inside the actual hobbit holes. At the end, we were taken into the Green Dragon inn and given complimentary drinks. The inn was nice and cozy with a fire place, the perfect way to end the tour. There is no way you can come to New Zealand and not check this place out!! read more
7 years ago
13 years ago
First thing first. I m not a fan of the original movies nor I like the current hobbit series. And I was dragged into going because I had to play tour guide for my cousin. We didn't book ahead and got there way before they opened and waited for a ticket for the first tour of the day. But I would recommend you to book before you go. They can get very busy. The whole set is fair bit of a distance away from the cafe and the ticketing office/souvenir shop. So they will transport you on a bus and drive through some of the most scenic farmlands in the northland. Once you get off the bus, they are free umbrellas if you need one. The weather can change quite quickly during the winter months. Ok, I won't say much about what's inside the set so no spoiler alert. You might think the 75 dollars ticket charge is a bit much, but they do give you a complimentary drink in the pub at the end of the tour. :-) overall I enjoyed the experience. And it is one of the most iconic places to visit in NZ. read more
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